Kentucky Seeks PR Agency

Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government seeks an agency to assist with the Stormwater Mass Marketing Program. The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government’s (LFUCG) Department of Environmental Quality and Public Works (EQPW) is soliciting competitive proposals from qualified professionals with marketing and advertising experience to produce materials and a campaign for stormwater improvement for Lexington and Fayette County.

In cooperation with LFUCG, the selected contractor will develop and distribute mass marketing materials designed to increase awareness of water quality issues among residents and to encourage behavioral change that will improve water quality and reduce stormwater runoff.

Background

The City of Lexington has been promoting water quality and stormwater runoff education for nearly ten years. Early messaging focused on increasing public awareness of Lexington’s stormwater system and the need to fix, maintain and improve stormwater infrastructure. This campaign included animated storm drains that talked about what storm drains are and how the newly-enacted Water Quality Management Fee was funding the storm sewer system.

As the campaign progressed, messaging was added to encourage homeowners and businesses to enact behavioral changes to improve water quality. Subjects included picking up pet waste, proper lawn chemical application, proper disposal of grass clippings and leaves, proper disposal of motor oil and littering (not doing it and picking it up).

A variety of media was used for these public education campaigns, including television, radio, print outlets, web banners, bus boards, in-app advertisements and social media.

Project Goals and Objectives

The ultimate goals of the Stormwater Mass Marketing Program are to reduce stormwater runoff by encouraging infiltration of rain where it falls and to reduce water pollution in stormwater runoff through public education and behavioral change. Topics include:

• Proper lawn chemical application practices
• Proper disposal of grass clippings & leaves
• Proper disposal of automotive fluids and household hazardous waste
• Proper disposal of litter and pet waste
• Proper disposal of Fats, Oils and Grease (FOG) and “flushable” wipes
• Proper tree care and planting practices
• The water quality implications of all of the above

Along with:

• Calling 311 to report spills
• General watershed awareness

Marketing materials should address specific behaviors for specific target audiences. For example, proper lawn care and yard waste practices would be directed at homeowners, not apartment dwellers or students.

Scope of Work

The selected contractor shall perform the following tasks:

1. Project Management
   • Selected contractor shall provide project management services to manage and ensure completion of the project on schedule and within budget. A program manager from the city will be identified, and will serve as the single point of contact for all aspects of the contract.
2. Message Development
   • EQPW will set priorities (message topic and audience) and the contractor shall develop messaging based on those priorities to create behavior change for targeted audiences.
   • The messaging shall be refined through feedback from EQPW provided to the contactor through the city’s single point of contact.
3. Mass Marketing Plan Development
   • The contractor shall create a mass marketing plan and recommend collateral material for development. The plan will be based on the results of an environmental survey conducted in 2014 as well as the requirements of the state-issued MS4 permit. The plan shall include creative services, art direction, copy, design, production and placement.
   • The plan shall be comprehensive and incorporate an integrated approach driven by EQPW defined goals and objectives for target audiences and key messages. These performance measures shall include knowledge, attitude, and behavioral outcomes, not simply reach and impression numbers. Conducting related surveys is not included in this scope of work, though the contractor should provide reach and impression numbers for ads purchased.
   • At a minimum, the plan shall include activities and a proposed timeline for development and distribution of materials with specifics about message, target audience and media outlets.
   • The plan shall include proposed media outlets and the percentage of resources devoted to each, for example: radio, newspaper advertisements, television, website banner advertisements, promoted social media posts, in-app advertisements and any other media outlets. Given its high cost, distribution of messages through television should be limited and highly strategic.
   • The plan shall include the use of existing communications capabilities within the Lexington- Fayette Urban County Government, including the LiveGreenLexington website and social media accounts.
   • The plan shall include a toolkit of deliverables that includes images, videos and other materials related to the messages developed which EQPW can independently modify and distribute. EQPW will specify the format(s).
   • The plan shall incorporate the use of the city logo that shall be provided by EQPW. The city fonts shall be the default fonts unless the contractor proposes alternate fonts with justification to the city’s single point of contact and receives subsequent approval.

Proposal due by May 5, 2017 to:

Division of Central Purchasing
Room 338
Government Center
200 East Main Street
Lexington, KY, 40507